Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

Created: 06/03/12

Replies: 17

Posted Jun. 03, 2012
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admin

Join Date: 10/11/10

Posts: 369

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Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

Iris's reading played a big role in this novel. Are there any books that you and your mother or childrenhave connected over? Why?

Posted Jun. 04, 2012
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lisag

Join Date: 01/12/12

Posts: 298

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My children are teenagers so the books we've connected on have been books like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, popular YA novels. But my own children aren't terribly interested in talking about books, to my dismay.

Posted Jun. 05, 2012
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annar

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 31

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My Mother gave me the gift of reading and I cann't remember not being able to read. If for some reason I am not reading a book, I feel something is wrong. My Mother read to me when I was a small child. One book I remember was "Lassie Come Home." We read together the "Little House" books, and many others.I read to my children when they were small until they learned to read. I am happy to say now they are adults both are readers and so are their children.

Posted Jun. 06, 2012
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dawnc

Join Date: 09/19/11

Posts: 3

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

Yes, when my girls were in middle school we did book group at there school, parent and child read the same books, and we had 3 choices of books, the kids picked we read them then had discussions the following month. It was awesome, the perspective teens and grownups are totally different, but gave us an opportunity to share thoughts and ideas. I enjoyed it immensely.

Posted Jun. 06, 2012
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lisag

Join Date: 01/12/12

Posts: 298

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

I have to add, my mother read to me most every night and bought me a subscription to a children's book club by mail. I rec'd a new book every month. In that way she did contribute to my reading. My oldest brother also taught me to read at a higher level. We would take turns reading books: he'd read one page and I'd read the next. He corrected words I mispronounced and give me definitions. He was a pretty big reader and turned me into a voracious reader.

Posted Jun. 06, 2012
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joyces

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 261

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

I have lots of memories of my Mom reading to my brother and I when we were little and I was an avid library user by the time I was 10. However as an adult she and I read totally different types of books so did not dscuss things too much with her. My daughter and I on the other hand have had lots of discussons about books we have both read. Have some of the same favorite authors and recommend books to each other regularly. She was in college when the Harry Potter series started and we both consumed those as fast as they were published.

Posted Jun. 09, 2012
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alice

Join Date: 03/06/12

Posts: 11

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My Mother was an avid mystery reader while I don't particularly like mysteries. However if a good family saga came along, my mother, father and I would all read the book and discuss. My adult children read only occasionally. I do not think that many young people read books for pleasure the way I was brought up to enjoy a good book.Alice

Posted Jun. 10, 2012
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Navy Mom

Join Date: 04/12/12

Posts: 100

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

I have four sons so I don't know how it would be with a daughter, but three of my sons are readers and because I have always read to them and shared with them we often pass books around and talk about books. My youngest never liked reading that much, or stories for that matter. But there is hope because he recently read The Hunger Games and is reading the second. With boys I read more Science Fiction and Historical Fiction, but we do discuss the books. Of course we have our favorite children's books that will always connect us. Now I am just waiting for grandchildren to share those books with.

Posted Jun. 12, 2012
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Beth350

Join Date: 04/15/11

Posts: 64

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

We have connected over many different books. I remember when my mother read "Heidi" and "Black Beauty" to my sister and me. Later she introduced me to historical fiction at the public library - the "Jalna" family epic series. Now I frequently recommend books for her to read. My daughters and I all connected over Winnie the Pooh when they were young and with the Lord of the Rings series later on. Books are something that we all enjoy talking about.

Posted Jun. 13, 2012
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susanr

Join Date: 04/14/11

Posts: 87

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

When I started getting reading lists in school (maybe 8th grade), my mom read every book on my list when I did and we always had great discussions about them. Now she is almost 90 years old and I take her books when I finish them and we discuss them when she finishes the book. She is the reason that I am an avid reader today.

Posted Jun. 13, 2012
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terrio

Join Date: 08/16/11

Posts: 41

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My mother has never been a reader, but I became a voracious reader in elementary school. Not only could I not discuss books with my mother, she frequently scolded me for having my head in a book. I firmly believe this is one of the reasons that my mother and I have never been close. I don't have children of my own, but I see it as my mission to encourage reading in my nieces and nephews. I am known (I hope fondly) as the aunt who always gives books. Maybe one of my nieces or nephews will become a lifelong reader and I will have a family member to discuss books with when I am in my dotage!

Posted Jun. 14, 2012
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susanlsimon

Join Date: 12/05/11

Posts: 8

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My daughter and I connect over books often but the author we both love is Pat Conroy because he takes us to a place that we both love and share memories with...the SC low country..

Posted Jun. 20, 2012
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dhaupt

Join Date: 06/20/12

Posts: 10

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My mother and I both enjoy books just like this one as well as romance and mystery. My daughter enjoys non-fiction like biographies etc..

Posted Jun. 21, 2012
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amberb

Join Date: 07/28/11

Posts: 37

RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

My mother - and grandmother - both passed along their love of reading to me. I have always enjoyed reading, and started at a very young age. The first books I really remember connecting with my mom over were the Little House on the Prairie Series. My grandmother also had a beautiful book entitled "Fragile Moments" that I loved. I read books to my very young boys every night, and we very much enjoy that special time together. The first book (other than Brown Bear) that my kids really fell in love with was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." We read it several times a day November through January! I am really looking forward to reading them The Chronicles of Narnia stories as soon as they are interested!

Posted Jun. 27, 2012
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bettyt

Join Date: 05/12/11

Posts: 121

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

Like terrio, my mother was not much of a reader but I was a voracious reader from the time I learned to read. I too was often scolded for having my head constantly buried in a book. Books were my escape. But my mother had to work hard to raise all her children so had no time for reading, sometime that was considered "idle time". But later in life we did do some bonding over the "Little House" series. I introduced her to those books and she enjoyed them. This was after I was grown and had joined the Air Force. Also I remember showing her a copy of Dale Evans Rogers' "Angel Unaware" that I had read and she really enjoyed it.

Posted Jun. 27, 2012
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lisag

Join Date: 01/12/12

Posts: 298

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

Some libraries have mother/daughter book clubs. Ours doesn't but I wonder how well-attended those are? Anyone know of such a club at your library or belong to one?

Lisa

Posted Jun. 27, 2012
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lisag

Join Date: 01/12/12

Posts: 298

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

I found this review by author Emma Straub and thought it was revealing of a lot of opinions about 'Mercy Train' and similar generational novels:

“Rae Meadows is at the very top of her game in this incredibly honest and often heartbreaking novel. When I was finished, I gave it to my mother to read, and then my mother-in-law, knowing that every woman who has ever had a child, or thought about having a child, would be moved by this phenomenal book.” –Emma Straub, author of Other People We Married and Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures

Also, Emma Straub is the daughter of Peter Straub, the horror writer.

Posted Jun. 28, 2012
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davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 604

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RE: Are there books that you and your mother or children have connected over?

Hi Lisa

You might find these two book club chats interesting. The first includes a bit of info on a mother-daughter book club as part of a wider book club interview. The second is with Kate McClelland of Perrot Memorial Library in Old Greenwich, Connecticut who talks about the children's book club she set up and ran in the library for 25 years. Sadly Kate was killed in a car crash soon after I interviewed her back in 2008, but I'm pretty sure that the club continues and has become a model for other libraries.